Annual Mt. Kisco Walk Celebrates The Life Of Peter C. Alderman And The Foundation In His Name

On Sunday, September 18th, the Friends of Peter Alderman again took to the Mt. Kisco Train station and trekked to Lexington Avenue Grill, where they acknowledged the tragedy of a young life lost at WTC on 9/11. More importantly, they didn't forget to celebrate the friendship Peter left in his wake. "He always brought a smile to my face," said high school friend, Lisa Lindsay-Jones, but the annual event also provided pause for the 100 or so attendees to mark the work his parents have undertaken to not let Peter's memory simply pass.

Going back to the tragedy, Steve and Liz

Alderman went in search of a cause that could amply live up to the memory of their son. What they stumbled on is that as a result of war, torture and terrorism, there are approximately one billion people around the world who suffer from such severe mental illness that they lack the will to live. In turn, the Alderman's decided they wanted to help the living victims of the same circumstances that took their son from them.

10 years later, despite the remarkable outreach into Africa, Asia and now Haiti, pitching mental illness to donors is still a tough sell for The Peter C. Alderman Foundation. Mr. Alderman's logic - even in the face of worthy issues such as AIDS, famine and poverty - is simple. "If you lack the will to live, keeping up with the medication regimen of AIDS treatment or making the trip to the nearest well doesn't happen," he says.

Their model is exemplified in their new infiltration into Uganda, where a country of 3.5 million people, which just endured 14 years of civil war, has just one psychologist. PCAF has added another and their job is to train fellow Ugandans in mental health care. By next year, says Alderman, "There will be 50 health workers engaged in mental health treatment and the number will grow every year."

All in all, the day - like any other for the Alderman's - is bitter sweet. Both couldn't help but acknowledge that in

the face of each new baby the walk brings, it's something Peter will never have. Nonetheless, said, Ms. Alderman, "Today, my son would be happy. Relationships were his thing - his hobby."

Phelps, who worked with him growing up and reconnected with him in the city, could speak to what a day's end did for their friendship. "Parties," she said, "that's how I got to know him best."

Unfortunately, second hand is the best the rest of us can do but that connection has been significantly raised to the next level. In April, The Tribeca Film Festival premiered Love Hate Love - a Sean Penn production, which documents the journey of the Alderman's and their foundation.

Still, Dr Alderman felt the latter must be clarified. "We are not the foundation," he said in reference to himself and his wife, "all of you are."

Either way, recognition continues to grow, and it's never a bad thing when our government gets around to it. "USAID is doing a case study on our work in Uganda and have now built a clinic for us there, he says.

As important as that is, it's the marchers close to home that probably matter the most to the Alderman's. And the mutual feeling seems to fuel the whole enterprise.

Unable to contain his tears, Greg Janis pointed to the Alderman's example as something that should be model by everyone. "It's people faced with adversity that charge on through the tough times. All of us should strive to be the people you are," he concluded.

Tags

Report This Page

Specify an exact violation that this article or any content on this page have done.

Request New Article

Not finding your content or simply looking for extra information. Here you can request an article from an author of this blog. Provide your name, email and specify your request in the below given fields and our author will write an article on it.

Your Name

Email

Request

Contributor Application Form

If you want to contribute your articles on this blog, then you must apply as a contributor first. Please login to your expertscolumn account and apply for contributing on this blog.